Need help deciding between gl1 and 953!
 

hi, ive been looking at this sites forums for a while analizing all the cameras, ive finaly got about 1100 to spend on a camera, and thats basicaly all i can spend..give or take 1-2 hundred. im stuck between the gl1 and the pv953. i would love to have a gl2,dvx100,or vx2100 but i just cant afford them. (dont say just save more for em, i cant for different reasons).....the gl1 appeals to me because it just seems like an overall more proffesional camera and the 1/4 inch ccds would be better than the 953's 1/6 inchers in low light. the thing that appeals to me about the 953 though is the superior 16:9 and higher resolution. i can get both cameras for basicaly the same exact price..so i just dont know what to do. another thing that appeals to me about the gl1 is the overall build of it, its more proffesional looking which could help me get respect while filming with freinds, im so used to using a handheld small camcorder and my actors just think its just play around time and im not serious about it. and i like to have a bigger heavier camera in my hand rather than a small wimpy light camera. err im so stressed out thinking about this, i just dont know what to do..what do u guys suggest i do?...and if anyone has some gl1 framegrabs or footage i can see that would be helpful..ive seen alot of 953 footage but no gl1 stuff.. thanks

I would get the PV-DV953 over the GL1, and the GL2 over the PV-DV953, unless I really wanted the higher resolution widescreen (of the PV-DV953).

Also, both the PV-DV953 and GL2 has the better audio than the GL1. Out of these 3, the GL2 has the best audio but none have XLR sockets as does the PDX10 (which also has great widescreen).

So for the money, I'd get a PV-DV953. Try B&H:

http://www.bhphotovideo.com

I'm not sure if EVS sells them.

i know the gl2 is better than the gl1..but how much better? i know the sound quality is alot better, but what about actual image quality? ive heard alot of people saying the gl1 gives a softer more filmlike look than the gl2 and sometimes is actually preferred over the gl2. and the low light on the 953 scares me..im most likely going to be filming scenes where it is night time with a few lights on, but not much, and dim lit areas. im afraid of grainy video from the 953

A lot better, including image quality. The GL2 also has many useful features which the GL1 doesn't have (but the TRV900 does.)Do you want 50 lines+ of higher resolution or 50+ lines of lower resolution? Why not go then go with an older Panasonic PV-DV950 then? It still has frame mode but it has even lower resolution?You will get grain with the GL1 in "dim lit areas" areas as well and even grain in well lit areas when compared with the hifger resolution GL2 and the even higher resolution PV-DV953; and I thought that you mentioned 16:9/widescreen? See:

ok thanks for the info frank..im starting to change my mind about the gl1..i just heard alot of good things about it and thought it was a good choice..but i guess not..how much do u think i could get a used gl2 for? im on a really tight budget and i could probly go up to around 1350-1400...do u think ill be lucky enough to find one for that cheap used?

I don't know about used GL2 prices. Check the newspaper? Check with B&H? Pawn shops? Buy & Sell papers? Check our buy/sell forum?

The nice thing about the 953 is that it has both high res 16:9 AND frame mode. The combination of the two can produce awesome video, under the right circumstances possibly better than a DVX100A or PDX10, if your final media is progressive (i.e. DVD, webvideo, film transfer). Why? Becasue the PDX10 has no progressive scan and the DVX100A does not have the resolution for a real 16:9 DV image.

I'd personally go for the GL1 for its 1/4" ccds and 20x optical zoom especially considering you say you can get them both for the same price. I'm a big fan of high res 16:9 and all, but 1/6" ccds seem too small. Newer cameras are packing more pixels onto smaller ccds since it's cheaper, but I don't think it's worth the loss of lux.

Plus, like you said, a bigger camera will make your actors and people working for you take you more seriously. I've worked with the PV-852 and PD-150 and experienced the difference a bigger camera makes.

I do agree with Frank that the GL2 is a visual improvement over the GL1. The difference is not surprisingly great however. I have both frame captures from each cam if you poke around my website:

http://homepage.mac.com/bhardy3/PhotoAlbum8.html

As for the 953 I have purchased one of those too. ALthough I have not done any extensive tests yet, from what I have seen so far the GL2 is still the best of the three, so much so that I have received a second GL2 just yesterday from bestprice audiovideo.com. My opinion is I don't think you will be disappointed with any of these three cams; even the GL1 has an unusual asset of overall warmth in image quality that can greatly be enhanced by adding more color saturation in post. Then I must say it "probably" has the most "friendly" picture quality of the three. The GL2 is best in low light, and there are low light pics on my website. The 953 seems a bit fuzzier in low light but don't quote me just yet. I plan to put up a page on the 953 after testing it in the near future.

Perhaps you mean, out of focus or it has more grain in low light? 1/6" mega pixel CCDs will do that in low light, and everyone almost always shoots in low light, you know. :-))

My new GL2 hogs the firewire bus and won't let me use my exterior FW800 hard drive at the same time. My old GL2 shares the FW port with the FW800 drive. The Panasonic 953 shares the FW drive with the exterior HD also. Weird. Could be all new GL2's behave this way? Dunno...